Struggling to deliver electric cars to Norway
The car industry has let go of the supply of semiconductors during the entire corona pandemic, but according to the industry, there does not seem to be an improvement in sight in the first place.
According to the Volkswagen Group – the group that houses brands such as VW, Skoda, Audi, Cupra and Porsche – customers must expect long delivery times for a few more years.
In an interview with the finance website Boersen newspaper (external link) says CFO Arno Antlitz that he believes the supply of microchips will not be normalized until 2024, since the manufacturer of microchips will not be able to meet demand until then – despite investing large sums of money to improve production capacity.
“The situation should improve in 2023, but the structural problem will still not be solved then,” Antlitz told the website.
The Volkswagen importer
In Norway, among other things, the electric car Skoda Enyaq has suffered from very long and uncertain delivery times. DinSide has asked the Norwegian Volkswagen importer, Harald A. Møller, about the situation.
Director of communication and public relations, Øyvind Rognlien Skovli, believes things are about to change.
– Although it is still some time before the situation is completely normalized, we notice continuous effects of measures that have been implemented. Cars come to the country that are regularly handed out to customers, he says.
When asked about specific future delivery times for cars such as Skoda Enyaq, Volkswagen’s ID cars, Audi e-tron and Q4 e-tron and Cupra Born, Rognlien Skovli is more vague.
“Then the delivery time on individual models depends on the level of equipment on individual orders, and the terrible situation in Ukraine has further complicated the picture for the car industry,” he told DinSide.
Watch out for the electric car trap
Corona and war
However, Volkswagen is far from alone in struggling with deliveries. To New Zuercher newspaper BMW boss Oliver Zipse also confirms the situation.
– We are in the middle of the chip shortage. I expect it to get better next year, but there will still be a fundamental shortage in 2023, he says to the German website.
According to senior communications consultant Nils Sødal in NAF, there is great variation in delivery time for electric cars.
– First, the pandemic caused trouble with microchip shortages and then came the war in Ukraine, and access to important raw materials became poorer, Sødal explains to DinSide.
– This is how you can solve the challenge
One of the challenges with long delivery times is also the unpredictability in terms of price. Several importers have recently raised prices, in addition to the announcement of the introduction of electric car VAT from 2023 onwards.
Sødal believes that as a car buyer you have some choices in this situation, with both advantages and disadvantages associated with it.
– You can wait for the car you want and keep the one you own today longer than planned. The disadvantage of this is that both the car you are going to buy become more expensive before it is delivered, while the car you are going to sell loses value.
– You can also think alternatively. Car brands still deliver within Several normal delivery times.
– Or how about renting or subscribing to the car instead? It is possible to dispose of a car without owning it. An alternative is also to subscribe to a car until the dream electric car is delivered.